Interview with Joan Almond about her father John Stafford

Titre alternatif

Interview with Joan Almond, 85, of Preston

Histoire

My father, John Stafford, fought at the Somme in August 1916 where he was wounded. He was saved after two painful days, having been left for dead. He drifted in and out of consciousness for two days before the rescue, which he detailed in a memoir that the family typed-up for safekeeping. “Thankfully, medics managed to save his badly injured leg - although it did end up 3 1/2 inches shorter than the other one and he had to wear a surgical boot for the rest of his life.” After the Second World War Stafford was awarded the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services. “Dad was a wonderful man,” Joan Almond said. “But looking back I think the war must have haunted him a lot, especially when you read his account. My mother used to encourage him to write down his experiences and this seemed to have a calming influence.”